Oceans of Night are a two man project from the US , which seems to be entirely studio based, that comprises Scott Mosher and Scott Oliva. Mosher plays guitars, bass, keyboards and does all the programming, while Oliva, who also sings in Iron Maiden tribute band Live After Death and has been a member of Wind Wraith, Driven and The Nightmare Stage, handles all vocal duties. Drums are credited to ‘the mysterious Mr Smithee’ but I suspect that ‘he’ is a drum machine.

The album begins with the title track which, at 17 minutes long, is the corner stone upon which the album is constructed and, not surprisingly, is the standout track on this release. It begins with the sound of a vast metallic door either opening or closing (are you being welcomed in or are you trapped inside?) before an atmospheric intro with intricate keyboard notes sets the scene for huge guitar chords and drums to take centre stage. As you would expect given the song’s length, there is plenty of light and shade and texture, from ambient passages which call to mind Dave Gilmour’s recent(ish) work with The Orb to massive riffs which wouldn’t be out of place on the heaviest of recordings.

From such an auspicious start, it would be a difficult task for any band to maintain the sheer depth and quality present in the opener throughout the rest of an album but Mosher and Oliva pretty much manage it. The remainder of the tracks are all very good, with ‘Seven Days of Rain’, ‘The View to You’ and the instrumental ‘Instruments of Fear’ being particularly so although, because they are all, relatively speaking, so much shorter than the title track they have less room to develop and to showcase the undoubted talents on offer. Having said that, I really like the way the intense riffs and guitar work blend so well with the delicately atmospheric and brooding keyboard patterns. If you like metal, melodic rock or prog there is something here for you in this excellent release.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Ambient

Album

DOMAIN

Review by Dave Uphill

RUNNING TIME:

64:24

RELEASE DATE:

November 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) Domain
2) Don't Look To Me
3) So Near Yet So Far
4) Dreams in Artificial Sunlight
5) Divisions of Time
6) Seven Days of Rain
7) The View to You
8) Instruments of Fear
9) The Future Remembered
10) Ghosts of the Past

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

USA

"...intense riffs and guitar work blend so well with the delicately atmospheric and brooding keyboard patterns."